Learning How to Play Chess + Our Review of ChessKid.com
Our kids Love to play Chess.They had their first Chess lesson at our last years Homeschooling Convention in Saskatoon. They had a class for the kids, while the parents went to the lectures and shopped for books and curriculum. The kids came home really pumped to learn more about chess. Their dad gave them a few lessons.
But then we found ChessKid.com it really changed things immensely for them.
The website is really fun to use, and the kids were wanting to play chess almost every day! Then we found the App for our iPad. They couldn't get enough! The video lessons are really fun, engaging and like a story. They have used it in bed at night time, in the car traveling across the city for errands, and really any other time of day.
My daughter has learned enough of the game that she is now teaching her grandma how to play
When she comes for visits they play chess together, and she teaches her how to play the game! They say, when you can turn around and teach what you have learned, it is another stage of the learning cycle. The funny quote from her lessons with her has been, "Mom-Mom I told you how to do that twice already!" Apparently, it is harder to teach an old dog new tricks. My parents are so impressed with how much of the game she understands and the app really has helped her with that. Here they are using her magnetic chess board, along with the iPad and the ChessKids app helping them along their game.
ChessKid.com teaches kids how to play the game in such a fun way
The ChessKid App has robots you can play, so you do not need someone else to play with all the time. This makes for a nice quiet afternoon activity while you run to throw in another load of laundry or dishes. The Robots on the App come with different levels of difficulty. Another really great feature, is the light bulb button that you turn on and it helps you with your next move, and it shows you the options you have. This is really good, as it teaches kids what options to start thinking about, and the correct moves and ways pieces are supposed to move. The other awesome feature compared to a real chess board, is that they cannot mess up the game board just for fun, or by accident, because, it's an app! The pieces cannot fall off!
But our kids still wanted a nice chess board that they could practice on as well
Playing on the app is great for learning, and is mess free, but there is something special about playing chess with a real chess board. So, we looked for a good board that would work for us, with very young kids. So, we searched and found a Magnetic Travel Chess Board that is just perfect for her, and it's good for her younger brother too when he plays as the pieces can't be knocked around as easily. This set has been so fun to use, easy to pack up and store on the shelf for the next time. We store this in our homeschool space next to the dining room. You can read more about our Homeschool Space Tour here in this post.
This program is organized for coaches, optimized for districts, and perfect for schools, with online curriculum, classroom management + student report cards.
It's smart for parents because playing chess improves memorization and IQ, and that turns online time into learning time, in a safe online environment. They say it's fun for kids all around the world, to play as much as you want and to learn from puzzles and videos all at your fingertips. And best of all, it is easy for home schools, because it has a complete chess curriculum, it makes it fun and you can also track progress with report cards.
And here is my littlest one, Logan (2 1/2) 'playing chess' as he lines them up and plays with the 'guys'.
We say, yes to ChessKid.com + we love their iPad app that is available through iTunes!
It is also compatible with the iPhone, so when the kids are wanting to play it at the same time, no worries! The computer also is great for their account and they can play it online on the computer as well. We recommend you check it out if your child has any desire to play the game :) Till next time,Breathe deeply and build your masterpiece,~Alexandra